154 HISTORY OP BRITISH CRUSTACEA. 



Gen. 57. SQUILLA, Fabr. Mantis Shrimp. 



The three last pairs of legs with a long styiiform appen- 

 dage ; the fang of the great first pair of legs lamellar, and 

 strongly toothed on the inner margin. 



The Squilla of zoologists are not the Squills of the 

 ancients, but a genus of remarkable long Crustacea with 

 large eyes, curiously shaped, and fore legs with a spined 

 claw which they can fold against the arms ; a long, but 

 small carapace, which contains chiefly the parts of the 

 mouth, the antennae and appendages, while the stomach, 

 viscera, and branchiae are disposed in other parts of the 

 body. The stomach occupies the four segments which follow 

 the carapace ; the branchiae are behind, on the under side of 

 the body, and nearly quite exposed. The abdomen is long, 

 with very distinct joints, the two last segments often cu- 

 riously spined and grooved, while the appendages at the 

 end can be spread out much like the tail of a lobster, and 

 must assist the creatures much in moving ; their legs, ex- 

 cept the first pair, are feeble. 



In the Mediterranean they are called Sea Mantises, or 

 Prego-Dieu, from their fore legs resembling the corre- 

 sponding parts in the well-known group of insects called 



